Ribes laxiflorum
| Ribes laxiflorum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Ribes laxiflorum (common name: white-flowered currant)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at between 0 and 5°c and should be sown as early in the year as possible[1][2]. Under normal storage conditions the seed can remain viable for 17 years or more. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting them out in late spring of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, July/August in a frame[3][1].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, preferably with a heel of the previous year's growth, November to February in a cold frame or sheltered bed outdoors[3][4].
Cultivation: Easily grown in a moisture retentive but well-drained loamy soil of at least moderate quality[5][4]. Plants are quite tolerant of shade though do not fruit so well in such a position[5].
Hardy to about -20°c[4].
Plants can harbour a stage of 'white pine blister rust', so they should not be grown in the vicinity of pine trees. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[4].
Range: Western N. America - British Columbia to California.
Habitat: A spreading or decumbent plant, clambering over logs and stumps in moist places in California[6].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[7][8][9][10]. Palatable, but not very juicy[11]. The fruit can be dried and stored for later use[12] or made into jelly[10]. The fruit can be up to 10mm long, though it is usually smaller, it is borne in small racemes[11].
Medicinal: A decoction or infusion of the root or branches can be used each day as an eyewash to remove foreign matter from the eyes[10].
A decoction of the leaves and twigs has been used as a general tonic[10].
A decoction of the bark has been used in the treatment of colds[10].
A decoction of the bark and roots has been used as a treatment for tuberculosis[10].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Gunther, Erna. Ethnobotany of Western Washington. University of Washington Press, 1981.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Turner, Nancy. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples. UBC Press Vancouver, 1995.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.